Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join the Deputies in welcoming the resumed publication of the CSO quarterly recorded crime statistics in late June. I accept that the suspension of the provision of this information has been a concern for Members, including Deputies opposite, several of whom have raised it on more than one occasion in the House in recent months.

At the beginning of 2012, the Garda Inspectorate conducted a major review of how crime is investigated in Ireland. This led to the publication of a report in November 2014 which examined issues such as training resource management, treatment of persons in custody and many other areas which are not of relevance to crime statistics. The main focus of the report was on cases of assault, burglary, domestic violence and robbery reported between 2011 and 2012. As part of its analysis, the inspectorate examined 1,500 crime records on the PULSE system, spoke to 1,000 gardaí, examined 158 calls for service received in the 12 months up to mid-2012, visited external stakeholders and other police services, sampled computer-aided dispatch and paper records, collected data on staffing and employment levels, and visited stations and control rooms in various Garda divisions to observe operations.

Of particular interest in respect of the CSO was the inspectorate review of how crime is reported and recorded by An Garda Síochána. Specifically, the report raised several concerns in regard to the accuracy of recorded crime and other administrative data, including the non-recording of crimes on PULSE. In fact, the inspectorate estimated that more than 30% of offences reported were not being recorded on PULSE. It identified evidence of a lack of timely recording of incidents, lack of sufficient detail on PULSE narratives, misclassification of incidents, including to non-crime categories, incorrect reclassification of incidents - again, including to and from non-crime categories - incorrect application of detention status to some incidents, and shortening and alteration of narrative feeds to justify subsequent decisions on detention status.

While the issues raised in the report relate primarily to the work of An Garda Síochána, they also have implications for the crime statistics produced by the CSO. In its response to the findings of the Garda Inspectorate, the CSO said it viewed with concern any issues which could have an impact on its official quarterly statistics. The crime data published by the CSO, the office noted, depend entirely on the Garda Síochána's systems and procedures in respect of recorded crime. In November 2014, the director general of the CSO contacted the Garda Commissioner with a view to examining the statistical implications of the inspectorate report. The CSO then commenced work assessing the statistical issues arising. This involved a detailed analysis of both the PULSE system and other Garda administrative data sets by CSO crime section personnel.

This work, which is an important step in ensuring the quality and coverage of crime statistics, delayed the current schedule of publication of the crime statistics by the CSO. The CSO will publish a more detailed response by the end of June 2015, identifying the extent of the impact on statistics in respect of coverage and classification from the issues highlighted in the Garda Inspectorate report. As a precaution, until the conclusion of the CSO review process, the CSO suspended the release of any new statistical information and publications that incorporate PULSE-administered data. The publication of the quarterly record of crime reports of quarter three and quarter four of 2014 and the Garda crime statistics 2009-2013 have been delayed as a direct result of this review process. The CSO will resume publication of quarterly reports in late 2015.

The Garda Inspectorate report on crime investigation forms an important component of the overall justice reform programme, which is currently under way and in respect of which significant progress has already been made. An Garda Síochána has established an implementation steering group to focus on the implementation of short, medium and long-term recommendations in the report and to assist in the overall reform process a strategic transformation office has been established at Garda headquarters to co-ordinate the implementation of reforms arising from the report. As part of this process, An Garda Síochána is reviewing all aspects of how crime is being recorded and classified as a result of the recommendations made in the inspectorate's report. A new instant recording process, which addresses the challenges identified in the report, has been developed and is currently being piloted in three Garda divisions. The pilot is focused on achieving data integrity for both crime and non-crime incidents reported to the Garda information services. That is a comprehensive reply for the Deputies opposite.

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